Print head array

ABSTRACT

A printing apparatus including at least one print head array coupled to the printing apparatus, a servicing station configured to service the at least one print head array, and a print controller software coupled to computer readable medium and the print controller software configured to perform the steps of moving the at least one print head array to the servicing station when at least one occurs from the group consisting of a nozzle head crash, a clogged nozzle, a failure of a print head, a misalignment, and the image quality defect value is above a threshold value and configuring at least one additional print head array to continue a print job started by the at least one print head array when the at least one print head array is at a position following the at least one print head array and the at least one additional print head array is functional.

BACKGROUND

Conventional servicing of a print head array is often dependent on fixedsituations, such as when a severe error occurs and/or at periodic fixedintervals based on previous instructions. This traditional form ofservicing often is inflexible and often does not take into considerationdifferent user preferences of quantity versus quality for varioussituations. This often results in significant unwanted downtime whichleads to reduced output, even when a user considers the image qualitysufficient and would like to continue printing. The user may thus feelthat they are bound by these fixed circumstances and have no control orflexibility in the printing. This may especially be dissatisfying whenthe user would like to continue to print in order to meet an impendingdeadline. On the opposite end, the user may feel that image quality isnot acceptable even when there is no severe error detected. As a result,the printing apparatus may continue to print unsatisfactory images thatthe user feels is unacceptable and thus waste resources in the form oftime, media, and ink.

Further, the servicing of a print head array conventionally involveshalting a print job entirely while a print head or a print head array isbeing serviced without offering an option to resume printing the sameimage with another print head array while the erred print head array isbeing serviced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example,features of the invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a printing apparatus, various components and devicesincluded in the printing apparatus, and various components and devicesattached to the printing apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a print controller software coupled to a printingapparatus configuring at least one sensor to detect when at least oneprint head array needs to be serviced, servicing at least one print headarray at a servicing station, configuring at least one additional printhead array to continue a print job started by at least one print headarray, and at least one secondary printing apparatus that may mark atleast one image according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates at least one additional print head array that may befunctional and at a position following at least one print head arraywhen at least one sheet of media travels in an upward stream and/ordownward stream according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a printer controller software that may be embeddedinto the printing apparatus and/or may be stored on a removable mediumbeing accessed by a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for continuing a print jobstarted by at least one print head array utilizing at least oneadditional print head array when at least one print head array needs tobe serviced according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining whether atleast one print head array needs to be serviced, continuing a print jobstarted by at least one print head array utilizing one additional printhead array when at least one print head array needs to be serviced,servicing at least one print head array, and reprinting at least oneimage according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention differs from previous approaches by offeringflexibility to a user when printing upstream or downstream bycontrolling when a print head array is to be serviced based not only ontraditional error conditions, but when the user wishes to choose qualityover quantity of the images printed or quantity over quality of theimages printed. A common practice for conventional servicing of a printhead array is dependent on fixed conditions on when an error isdetected, such as when a nozzle head has crashed, a nozzle is clogged,and/or when a misalignment occurs. Further conventional methods ofservicing a print head array may involve always stopping the print jobentirely, regardless of whether or not an image or print job iscurrently being printed, or always completing the printing of an imageor the print job.

As a result, a user may find that images are continued to be printedwhen the user does not find that the image quality is satisfactory,thereby wasting resources, or that images that are salvageable are notbeing printed or completed when the user feels that the image qualityfor the images are sufficient, further wasting resources and time. Thisultimately leads to wasted time in servicing the printing apparatus whennot desired, wasted resources in printing unsatisfactory images, and anunsatisfactory printing experience for the user. The present inventionalleviates many of these issues and concerns by taking intoconsideration an image quality when determining whether to service aprint head array and determining whether to halt or continue printing animage or print job when an image or print job is currently beingprinted.

FIG. 1 illustrates a printing apparatus, various components and devicesincluded in the printing apparatus, and various components and devicesattached to the printing apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention. A printing apparatus is an apparatus that may access printdata from at least one print job to print one or more images, text,and/or patterns on one or more sides of a sheet upon instruction. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus may include a printcontroller, at least one print head array, at least one additional printhead array, a servicing station, at least one sensor, a video displaydevice, and at least one secondary printing apparatus. Further, asillustrated in FIG. 1, the print controller which may further include aPROCESSOR, RAM, computer readable medium, and print controller software.The printing apparatus may include additional devices and/or componentsand may be attached and/or coupled to additional devices or componentsin addition to and/or in lieu of those depicted in FIG. 1.

As noted above, the printing apparatus 100 may include a printercontroller 160, which may be used to control the printing apparatus 100and include a PROCESSOR, RAM, Storage/Computer Readable Medium, andprint controller software 170. The print controller software 170 maymanage the operations of the printing apparatus 100, in conjunction withthe print controller 160, by sending instructions to one or morecomponents and/or devices coupled to the printing apparatus 100. It willbe understood that the term, at least one print head array, is used todescribe a print head array that is initially encountered beforeencountering at least one additional print head array. It will furtherbe understood that the term, at least one additional print head array,is used to describe a print head array that is encountered afterencountering at least one print head array. As a result, depending onwhether a sheet or web of media is moving up or down stream, willdetermine whether a print head array may be considered at least oneprint head array or at least one additional print head array forpurposes of this application.

The print controller software 170 may be firmware that is embedded ontothe print controller 160 or the printing apparatus 100. Additionally,the print controller software 170 may be a software application storedon the printer apparatus 100 through a storage medium readable andaccessible by the printing apparatus 100 or the print controllersoftware 170 may be stored on a computer readable medium readable andaccessible by the printing apparatus 100 from a different location.Further, the print controller software 170 may be stored and/or accessedthrough a server coupled through a local area network or a wide areanetwork. The print controller software 170 may communicate with theprint controller 160 and/or other additional devices and/or componentscoupled to the printing apparatus 100 physically or wirelessly throughone or more communication channels included in or attached to theprinting apparatus 100.

In one embodiment, a sheet or web of media may be traveling down streamand initially make contact with print head array 110 before makingcontact with print head array 120. As a result for the presentembodiment, print head array 110 will hereby be referred to as at leastone print head array 110, and print head array 120 will hereby bereferred to as at least one additional print head array 120. The printcontroller software 170 may initially determine whether there are anyimages to be printed in a print job and instruct at least one print headarray 110 or at least one additional print head array 120 to print theimage and/or any additional images from the print job on at least onesheet of media. The print controller software 170 may then determinewhether at least one print head array 110 and/or any additional printhead arrays 120, coupled to the printing apparatus 100, needs to beserviced. At least one print head array 110 and any additional printhead array 120 may include at least one print head coupled to theprinting apparatus 100 that may be used to print at least one imageand/or text onto at least one sheet of media. In determining whether atleast one print head array 170 needs to be serviced, the printcontroller software 170 may scan at least one image from a print job fora defect in image quality and create an image quality defect value. Atleast one image from a print job may be an image, text, or a combinationof text and images. A print job may include data indicating the numberof pages and/or number of images to be printed, whether to print induplex mode or single sided mode, the type of sheets to print on, suchas media type, as well as the size of sheets to print on. The print jobmay be created from at least one image and/or data that has beencaptured through a scanner, a fax, a copier, and/or another device, suchas a computer.

As noted above, the print controller software 170 may scan at least oneimage from the print job for a defect in image quality and create animage quality defect value. In creating the image quality defect valuefor at least one image and/or any additional image of a print job, theprint controller software 170 may utilize at least one sensor 130 and/orany additional sensors 140 coupled to the printing apparatus 100 to scanor capture the image of at least one image or any additional images ofthe print job being printed by at least one print head array 110 or anyadditional print head arrays 120. Further, at least one sensor 130and/or any additional sensors 140 may be utilized to scan and detectwhen a nozzle head has crashed, when a nozzle has clogged, when a printhead has failed, and/or when there is a misalignment. At least onesensor 130 and any additional sensors 140 may be a scanner, camera orany other form of imaging device that may capture an image and create acopy of the image.

After scanning at least one image with at least one sensor 130 and/orany additional sensors 140, the print controller software 170 may createa scanned copy of at least one image. The scanned copy of at least oneimage and/or any additional image may be a corresponding copy of atleast one image and/or any additional image that has finished printingor is currently being printed. Once the scanned copy of at least oneimage has been created, the print controller software 170 may comparethe scanned copy of at least one image to a corresponding digital copyof at least one image. The digital copy of at least one image may be adigital target image of what at least one image should look like. Aftercomparing the scanned copy of at least one image to a digital copy of atleast one image, the print controller software 170 may determine anamount of error between the scanned copy of at least one image and thedigital copy of at least one image.

In determining the amount of error, the print controller software 170may count and store the number of defects in the scanned copy of atleast one image in comparison to the digital copy of at least one image.In counting the number of defects, the print controller software 170 mayscan for any missing pixels, incorrect colors, incorrect position ofprinting, and/or any combination of the previous errors in comparison tothe digital copy of at least one image and count the number of defects.Additionally, the print controller software 170 may use the number ofdefects found in the scanned copy of at least one image to create aletter grade from A through F for the scanned copy of at least oneimage. Further, the print controller software 170 may use the number ofdefects found in the scanned copy of at least one image to calculate apercentage of error and/or defects found in the scanned copy of at leastone image in comparison to the digital copy of at least one image. Theprint controller software 170 may then utilize the results to create animage quality defect value.

The image quality defect value is a value such as a numerical number, aletter grade, or a percentage that may be used to indicate a level ofdefectiveness of an image. As noted above, the image quality defectvalue may be a letter grade indicating the level of quality of theimage. Additionally, the image quality defect value may be a numericalvalue specifically indicating the number of defects found in at leastone image or the image quality defect value may be percentage indicatingthe percentage of defect of the image.

As noted above, the print controller software 170 may determine whetherat least one print head array 110, coupled to the printing apparatus100, needs to be serviced. In determining whether at least one printhead array 110 needs to be serviced, the print controller software 170may scan for a nozzle head crash, a clogged nozzle, a failure of a printhead, a misalignment, and/or an image quality defect value being above athreshold value. If any of the previous are detected, the printcontroller software 170 may determine that at least one print head array110 needs to be serviced. At least one print head array 110 and/or anyadditional print head arrays 120 may need to be serviced when additionalfactors occur or are detected in addition to and/or in lieu of thosedepicted above.

The threshold value utilized above may be a predefined value created bythe printing apparatus, downloaded and stored through a network fromanother printing apparatus or computer, and/or created manually by auser. Similar to the image quality defect value, the threshold value maybe a value such as a numerical number, a letter grade, or a percentagethat may be used to indicate the level of defectiveness of an image.Further each print job and/or image printing may have a correspondingthreshold value that may be the same or may vary depending on user orsystem preference for quality and/or quantity produced.

A user or the printing apparatus 100 may choose quantity produced overquality when the image quality is not as important as getting as manycopies printed as possible by defining a lower image quality defectvalue. As a result, at least one print head array may need to beserviced less frequently and an amount of time the printing apparatus100 is up may be increased. Alternatively, the user or printingapparatus 100 may determine that image quality is more important, whereas the quantity is not as important a factor by defining a higher imagequality defect value. As a result, at least one print head array 110and/or at least one additional print head array 120 may need to beserviced more frequently, however the image quality of the prints willbe insured to be of higher quality. The present invention thus offersflexible printing to accommodate different preferences for one or moreusers depending on different circumstances while contiguously printingat least one image and/or any additional images of a print job.

If at least one print head array 110 is determined to need servicing,the print controller software 170 may further determine whetherservicing at least one print head array 110 will interrupt at least oneimage from a print job from completing. In determining whether at leastone print head array 110 will interrupt at least one image from a printjob from completing, the print controller software 170 may access thecorresponding print job and determine whether at least one image fromthe print job is currently active. Additionally, the print controllersoftware 170 may check whether at least one print head array 110 or anyadditional print head array 120 is currently active. If at least oneimage from the print job is not active or at least one print head array110 and/or any additional print head array 120 is not active, the printcontroller software 170 may determine that servicing at least one printhead array 110 will not interrupt at least one image from the print jobfrom completing. Further, if at least one image from the print job isactive or at least one print head array 110 and/or any additional printhead array 120 is active, the print controller may determine thatservicing at least one print head array 110 will interrupt at least oneimage from the print job from completing.

If servicing at least one print head array 110 will not interrupt atleast one image from the print job from completing and at least oneprint head array 110 needs to be serviced, the print controller software170 may issue an instruction to move at least one print head array 110to a service station 130. After moving at least one print head array toa service station 130, the print controller software 170 may thenproceed to configure at least one additional print head array 120 tocontinue the print job when at least one additional print head array 120is functional and at a position following at least one print head array110. At least one additional print head array 120 is functional when itdoes not need to be serviced.

If servicing at least one print head array 110 will interrupt at leastone image from the print job from completing and at least one print headarray 110 needs to be serviced, the print controller software 170 mayproceed to determine whether to continue printing at least one imagefrom the print job. In determining whether to continue printing at leastone image from the print job, the print controller software will againconsider whether at least one image from the print job has an imagequality defect value above a predefined threshold value.

If at least one image does from the print job does not have an imagequality defect value above threshold value, the print controller mayconfigure at least one additional print head array 120 to wait untilafter at least one image from the print job has completed printingbefore continuing the print job when at least one additional print headarray 120 is functional and at a position following at least one printhead array 110. If at least one image from the print job has an imagequality defect value above threshold value, the print controller mayinterrupt at least one image from the print job from completing andconfigure at least one additional print head array 120 to continueprinting the at least one image from the print job when at least oneadditional print head array 120 is functional and at a positionfollowing at least one print head array 110.

As a result, the printing apparatus 100 may contiguously print anexisting image of the print job or continue printing the print job,while reducing the number of unacceptable images printed and maintain ahigher number of acceptable images that have an image quality value thatis above a threshold value.

While printing the print job with at least one additional print headarray 120, the print controller software 170 may send an instruction toservice at least one print head array 110 at the service station 130. Ifat least one print head array 110 has not already been moved to theservice station 130, the print controller software 170 may issue aninstruction to move at least one print head array 110 to the servicestation 130 for servicing.

A service station 130 is a position in the printing apparatus 100 thatis currently not printing and where at least one print head array 110may be serviced. Servicing at least one print head array 110 and/or anyadditional print head array 120 may include recovering a nozzle headafter a crash, unclogging a clogged nozzle, replacing a failed printhead, realigning at lease one print head and/or nozzle after amisalignment, and/or recalibrating at least one print head and/or nozzleto increase image quality. Servicing at least one print head array 110and/or any additional print head array 120 may include performingadditional functions and/or operations to improve image quality andreduce defects in addition to and/or in lieu of those depicted above.After at least one print head array 110 has been serviced, the printcontroller software 170 may configure at least one print head array 110to resume printing the print job being printed by at least oneadditional print head array 120.

Further, the print controller software 170 may identify at least oneimage or any additional images of the print job that may have an imagequality defect value above a threshold value. The print controllersoftware may identify at least one image or any additional images of theprint job that may have an image quality defect value above a thresholdvalue by issuing an instruction for a video display device coupled tothe printing apparatus 100 to output defect message whenever at leastone image or any additional images of the print job has have an imagequality defect value above a threshold value. A video display device maybe a device coupled to the printing apparatus that may display imagesand/or text. Additionally, the video display device may be embedded intothe printing apparatus 100 or coupled physically or wirelessly to theprinting apparatus 100.

Additionally, in identifying at least one image and/or any additionalimages of the print job that may have an image quality defect valueabove a threshold value, the print controller software 170 may alsoconfigure at least one print head array 110, at least one additionalprint head array 120, and/or at least one secondary printing apparatus180 to mark at least one image and/or any additional image of the printjob when the corresponding image has an image defect value above athreshold value. A secondary printing apparatus 180 may be a print headarray, a print head, and/or a stamp that may mark at least one or moreimages of a print job. The print controller software 170 may furtherkeep a log of at least one image and/or any additional image of theprint job that has been marked using a log that may be stored as a fileon the printing apparatus, a computer readable medium, and/or through anetwork. The print controller software 170 may identify and/or mark atleast one image or any additional image of a print job that has an imagequality defect value above a threshold value using additional meansand/or devices in addition to and/or in lieu of those depicted above andFIG. 1.

The print controller software 170 may also determine whether at leastone image and/or any additional image from the print job has not beenprinted by examining the print job and determining whether any images ofthe print job have timed out and/or are still queued for printing.Further, the print controller software 170 may issue an instruction toreprint at least one image or any additional images from the print jobwhen at least one image or any additional images from the print job havenot been printed or when an image quality defect value of thecorresponding image are above a threshold value that may be predefined.The print controller software may issue additional instructions, performadditional functions, and/or control additional devices and/orcomponents in addition to and/or in lieu of those noted above anddepicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a print controller software coupled to a printingapparatus configuring at least one sensor to detect when at least oneprint head array needs to be serviced, servicing at least one print headarray at a servicing station, configuring at least one additional printhead array to continue a print job started by at least one print headarray, and at least one secondary printing apparatus that may mark atleast one image according to an embodiment of the invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the printing apparatus may include a printcontroller software, at least one print head array, a service station,at least one secondary printing apparatus, and at least one sensor. Theprinting apparatus may include additional components and/or devices inaddition to and/or in lieu of those depicted in FIG. 2 and noted above.

In one embodiment, a sheet or web of media may be traveling down streamand initially make contact with print head array 210 before makingcontact with print head array 220. As a result for the presentembodiment, print head array 210 will hereby be referred to as at leastone print head array 210, and print head array 220 will hereby bereferred to as at least one additional print head array 220. As notedabove, the print controller software 240 may instruct at least one printhead array 210 and/or at least one additional print head array 220 toprint at least one image of a print job. As illustrated in FIG. 2 andnoted above, the printing apparatus 200 may include at least one printhead array 210 and at least one additional print head array 220 that maybe functional or may need servicing. At least one print head array 210and at least one additional print head array 220 may include one or moreprint heads. Further, one or more print heads may further include one ormore nozzles where ink may be fired out of and onto at least one sheetof media to create at least one image of a print job.

Further, the print controller software 240 may then determine when atleast one print head array 210 and/or at least one additional print headarray 220 needs to be serviced. As noted above, in determining whetherat least one print head array 210 and/or at least one additional printhead array 220 needs to be serviced, the print controller software 240may configure at least one sensor 260, 263, 266 to scan at least oneimage of a print job for defects, detect when a nozzle head has crashed,when a nozzle has clogged, when a print head has failed, and/or whenthere is a misalignment. At least one sensor 260, 263, 266 may belocated at different positions on the printing apparatus 200.Additionally, as noted above, at least one sensor 260, 263, 266 may be ascanner, camera or any other form of imaging device that may capture animage and create a copy of the image.

In one embodiment, a sheet of media may be traveling in a downwardstream and the sheet of media may already have at least one imageprinted on it. At least one sensor 260 may initially scan the sheet ofmedia and determine that it has an image quality defect value above athreshold value and thus determine that at least one print head array210 and/or at least one additional print head array 220 needs to beserviced. Alternatively, the sheet of media may be traveling in adownward stream and the sheet of media may not be printed on yet, atleast one sensor 260 may initially scan the image and determine thatthere are no defects. At least one print head array 210 may then proceedto print on the sheet of media, however at least one additional sensor263 may determine that the image printed now has an image quality defectvalue above a threshold value. The print controller software 240 maythen determine that at least one print head array 210 needs to beserviced. In another embodiment, at least one sensor 260 and at leastone additional sensor 263 may determine that an image quality defectvalue is not above a threshold value, the print controller software 240may then proceed to instruct at least one additional print head array220 to print. At least one additional sensor 266 may then scan the imageand determine that the image has an image quality defect value above athreshold value. The print controller software 240 may then determinethat at least one additional print head array 220 needs to be serviced.As a result, the present invention may accurately determine whether atleast one print head array 210, whether at least one additional printhead array 220, or both print head arrays need to be serviced.

As noted above, at least one print head array 210 and/or at least oneadditional print head array 220 may need to be serviced at a servicingstation 230 when at least one image of a print job has an image defectvalue above a threshold value, when a nozzle head has crashed, when anozzle is clogged, when a print head has failed, and/or when there is amisalignment. As noted above, the service station 230 may be a positionin the printing apparatus 200 that is currently not printing and whereat least one print head array 210 may be serviced. Additionally, asnoted above, at least one print head array 210 and/or any additionalprint head array 220 may be serviced by recovering a nozzle head after acrash, unclogging a clogged nozzle, replacing a failed print head,realigning at lease one print head and/or nozzle after a misalignment,and/or recalibrating at least one print head and/or nozzle to increaseimage quality. The servicing of at least one print head array 210 and/orat least one additional print head array 220 at the service station 230may be performed automatically by the printing apparatus 200 or manuallyby one or more users.

As noted above, after at least one print head array 210 or at least oneadditional print head array 220 has been serviced, the print controllermay configure the print head array 210,220 which has been serviced toresume printing the print job. Additionally, when at least one printhead array 210 needs to be serviced, at least one print head array 210may need to be moved to a service station. Further, as noted above, atleast one additional print head array 220 may be configured to continueprinting at least one image of the print job or continue printing theprint job started by at least one print head array 210 when at least oneadditional print head array is functional. At least one additional printhead array 220 is functional when it does not need to be serviced.

Further as noted above, at least one image of the print job may bemarked by at least one print head array 210, at least one additionalprint head array 220, and/or at least one secondary printing apparatus250, 253, 256 when the image has an image defect value above a thresholdvalue. Additionally, as noted above, at least one secondary printingapparatus 250, 253, 256 may be a print head array, a print head, and/ora stamp that may mark at least one or more images of a print job.

In one embodiment, where a sheet of media is traveling in a downstreamand at least on image has already been printed on the sheet, at leastone sensor 260 may initially determine that the image printed on thesheet already has an image defect value above a threshold value. Theprint controller software may then instruct at least one secondaryprinting apparatus 250 to mark the image. Additionally, at least onesensor may determine that the image does not have an image qualitydefect value above a threshold value and at least one print head array210 may proceed to print on the sheet of media. At least one additionalsensor 263 may then scan the image and determine that the image has animage quality defect value above a threshold value. At least onesecondary printing apparatus 253 may then mark the image. In anotherembodiment, at least one sensor 260 and at least one additional sensor263 may determine that the image does not have an image quality defectvalue above a threshold value and at least one additional print headarray 220 may proceed to print on the sheet of media. At least oneadditional sensor 266 may then scan and determine that the image has animage quality defect value above a threshold value and at least onesecondary printing apparatus 256 may then mark the image.

FIG. 3 illustrates at least one additional print head array that may befunctional and at a position following at least one print head arraywhen at least one sheet of media travels in an upward stream and/ordownward stream according to an embodiment of the invention. As notedabove, at least one print head array 310 and/or at least one additionalprint head array 320 may be functional if they do not require servicing.Further, at least one additional print head array 320 is at a positionfollowing at least one print head array 310 when at least one sheet ofmedia 330,340 makes contact with at least one additional print headarray after initially making contact with at least one print head array310 following a direction of travel for at least one sheet of media330,340.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, a sheet of media 330 maytravel in a downward stream in the printing apparatus. Following thedownward stream, the sheet of media 330 may make contact with print headarray 320 after initially making contact with print head array 310. As aresult, print head array 320 may be at a position following print headarray 310. In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a sheet ofmedia 340 may travel in an upward stream in the printing apparatus.Following the upward stream, the sheet of media 340 may make contactwith print head array 310 after initially making contact with print headarray 320. As a result, print head array 310 may be at a positionfollowing print head array 320.

FIG. 4 illustrates a printer controller software that may be embeddedinto the printing apparatus and/or may be stored on a removable mediumbeing accessed by a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention. As noted above, the printer controller software 400 maycontrol and/or manager the hardware components of the printing apparatusby sending instructions and/or commands to each component of theprinting apparatus independently or in conjunction using one or morecommunication channels.

Further, as noted above, the printer controller software 400 may befirmware that may be imbedded into one or more components of theprinting apparatus 410. Additionally, the printer controller software400 may be a software application which may be stored and accessed froma hard drive, a compact disc, a flash disk, a network drive or any otherform of computer readable medium that is coupled to the printingapparatus. In one embodiment, the printer controller software 400 may bestored on a server or another device that may or may not be coupled tothe printing apparatus 410. The printing apparatus 410 may utilize alocal area network or a wide area network to store and access theprinter controller software 400. The printer controller 400 may bestored and accessed from additional devices in addition to and/or inlieu of those depicted in FIG. 4.

Reference will now be made to exemplary embodiments illustrated in thedrawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe thesame. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scopeof the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and furthermodifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, andadditional applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated herein, which would occur to one of ordinary skill withinthe relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to beconsidered within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for continuing a print jobstarted by at least one print head array utilizing at least oneadditional print head array when at least one print head array needs tobe serviced according to an embodiment of the invention. The method ofFIG. 5 may utilize a print controller software, at least one sensor, atleast one print head array, at least one additional print head array,and a servicing station. The method of FIG. 5 may utilize additionalcomponents and/or devices in addition to and/or in lieu of those notedabove and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As noted above, a print controller software may initially determinewhether at least one print head array needs to be serviced 500. If atleast print head array needs to be serviced, the print controllersoftware may then issue an instruction to move at least one print headarray to a servicing station when at least one print head array needs tobe serviced and servicing at least one print head array will notinterrupt at least one image from the print job from completing 510. Theprint controller software may then configure at least one additionalprint head array to continue the print job when at least one additionalprint head array is functional and at a position following at least oneprint head array after at least one image from the print job hascompleted 520.

Alternatively, if at least one print head array needs to be serviced,the print controller software may initially wait until at least oneimage from the print job has completed before configuring at least oneadditional print head array to continue the print job when at least oneadditional print head array is functional and at a position followingthe at least one print head 520.

Additionally, if at least one print head array needs to be serviced, theprint controller software may send an instruction to interrupt at leastone image from the print job from completing and configure at least oneadditional print head array to continue printing at least one image fromthe print job when at least one additional print head array isfunctional and at a position following at least one print head array530.

The process may then be complete or the print controller software maycontinue to determine whether at least one print head array needs to beserviced and repeat the method disclosed in FIG. 5. The method of FIG. 5may include additional steps in addition to and/or in lieu of thosedepicted in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining whether atleast one print head array needs to be serviced, continuing a print jobstarted by at least one print head array utilizing one additional printhead array when at least one print head array needs to be serviced,servicing at least one print head array, and reprinting at least oneimage according to an embodiment of the invention. The method of FIG. 6may utilize a print controller software, at least one sensor, at leastone print head array, at least one additional print head array, at leastone secondary printing apparatus, and a servicing station. The method ofFIG. 6 may utilize additional components and/or devices in addition toand/or in lieu of those noted above and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As noted above, the print controller software may initially determinewhether at least one print head array needs to be serviced 600. Further,as noted above, in determining whether at least one print head arrayneeds to be serviced, the print controller software may scan at leastone image from a print job for a defect in image quality and create animage quality defect value 605. In creating the image quality defectvalue, the print controller software may create a scanned copy of atleast one image, compare the scanned copy of at least one image to adigital copy of at least one image, and determine an amount of errorbetween the scanned copy of at least one image and at least one digitalcopy of at least one image 610.

The print controller software may then determine whether a nozzle headcrash, a clogged nozzle, a failure of a print head, a misalignment, oran image quality defect value above a threshold value been detected 620.If none have been detected, the print controller software may continueto have at least one print head array print and continue to determinewhether at least one print head array needs to be serviced 600. If anozzle head crash, a clogged nozzle, a failure of a print head, amisalignment, or an image quality defect value above a threshold valuehas been detected, then the print controller software may proceed todetermined whether servicing at least one print head array willinterrupt at least one image from a print job from completing when atleast one print head array needs to be serviced 630.

If at least one image from a print job will not be interrupted, theprint controller may proceed to move at least one print head array to aservicing station when at least one print head array needs to beserviced 635. The print controller software may then configure at leastone additional print head array to continue the print job when the atleast one additional print head array is functional and at a positionfollowing the at least one print head array 645.

If at least one image from the print job will be interrupted, the printcontroller software may then determine whether to continue printing atleast one image from the print job 640. In determining whether tocontinue printing at least one image from the print job, the printcontroller software may check whether the image defect value is above apredefined threshold value 640.

If the image defect value is not above a threshold value, the printcontroller software may configure at least one additional print headarray to wait until after at least one image from the print job hascompleted before continuing the print job when at least one additionalprint head array is functional and at a position following the at leastone print head array 645. As noted above, at least one additional printhead array is at a position following at least one print head array whenat least one sheet of media makes contact with the at least oneadditional print head array after initially making contact with at leastone print head array following a direction of travel for the at leastone sheet of media.

If the image defect value is above a threshold value, the printcontroller software may interrupt at least one image from the print jobfrom completing and configure at least one additional print head arrayto continue printing at least one image from the print job when at leastone additional print head array is functional and at a positionfollowing at least one print head array 650. While at least oneadditional print head array is printing the print job, at least oneprint head array may be serviced in a servicing station. After at leastone print head array has been serviced, the print controller softwaremay configure at least one print head array to resume printing the printjob 660.

The print controller software may output a defect message to a videodisplay or mark at least one image from the print job when an imagequality defect value is above a threshold value 670. As noted above, atleast one print head array, at least one additional print head array,and/or at least one secondary printing apparatus may be configured tomark at least one image when the image quality defect value is above athreshold value.

The print controller software may then proceed to determine whether atleast one image from the print job has not been printed 680. The printcontroller software may then reprint at least one image from the printjob when at least one image from the print job has not been printed orwhen an image quality defect value of the at least one image is above athreshold value 690. As noted above, the threshold value may bepredefined by a user or the printing apparatus. The process may then becomplete or the print controller software may continue to determinewhether at least one print head array needs to be serviced and repeatthe method disclosed in FIG. 6. The method of FIG. 6 may includeadditional steps in addition to and/or in lieu of those depicted in FIG.6.

1. A printing apparatus comprising: at least one print head arraycoupled to the printing apparatus; a servicing station configured toservice the at least one print head array; and a print controllersoftware coupled to computer readable medium and the print controllersoftware configured to perform the steps of: moving the at least oneprint head array to the servicing station when at least one occurs fromthe group consisting of a nozzle head crash, a clogged nozzle, a failureof a print head, a misalignment, and the image quality defect value isabove a threshold value; and configuring at least one additional printhead array to continue a print job started by the at least one printhead array when the at least one print head array is at a positionfollowing the at least one print head array and the at least oneadditional print head array is functional.
 2. The printing apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the print controller is further configured to scan theat least one image of the print job with at least one sensor andidentify the at least one image of the print job when a defect in imagequality is detected by marking the at least one image of the print job,wherein marking the at least one image of the print job includesconfiguring the at least one print head array or the at least oneadditional print head array to print a defect mark on the at least oneimage from the print job when the defect in image quality is detectedand above a predefined threshold value.
 3. The printing apparatus as inany one of claims 1-2 further comprising at least one secondary printingapparatus configured to mark the at least one image from the print jobwhen a defect in image quality is detected and above a predefinedthreshold value.
 4. The printing apparatus as in any one of claims 2-3wherein the at least one sensor may be a digital imaging device or ascanner configured to continuously scan the at least one image from theprint job or any additional image from the print job.
 5. A methodcomprising: determining whether at least one print head array needs tobe serviced; moving the at least one print head array to a servicingstation when the at least one print head array needs to be serviced andservicing the at least one print head array will not interrupt at leastone image from a print job from completing; and continuing the print jobwith at least one additional print head array when the at least oneadditional print head array is functional and at a position followingthe at least one print head array after the at least one image from theprint job has completed or interrupting the at least one image from theprint job from completing and continuing printing the at least one imagefrom the print job with the at least one additional print head arraywhen the at least one additional print head array is functional and at aposition following the at least one print head array.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the at least one additional print head array is at aposition following the at least one print head array when at least onesheet of media makes contact with the at least one additional print headarray after initially making contact with at least one print head arrayfollowing a direction of travel for the at least one sheet of media. 7.The method of claim 5 or 6 further comprising: determining whetherservicing the at least one print head array will interrupt the at leastone image from the print job from completing when the at least one printhead array needs to be serviced; servicing the at least one print headarray in a servicing station; and configuring the at least one printhead array to resume printing the print job after the at least one printhead array has been serviced.
 8. The method as in any one of claims 5-7wherein determining whether the at least one print head array needs tobe serviced includes scanning the at least one image from the print jobfor a defect in image quality and creating an image quality defectvalue.
 9. The method as in any one of claims 5-8 wherein the at leastone print head array needs to be serviced when at least one occurs fromthe group consisting of a nozzle head crash, a clogged nozzle, a failureof a print head, a misalignment, and an image quality defect value isabove a threshold value.
 10. The method as in claim 8 or 9 furthercomprising outputting a defect message to a video display or marking theat least one image from the print job when the image quality defectvalue is above the threshold value.
 11. The method as in any one ofclaims 8-10 wherein creating the image quality defect value includes:creating a scanned copy of the at least one image; comparing the scannedcopy of the at least one image to a digital copy of the at least oneimage; and determining a percentage of error between the scanned copy ofthe at least one image and the digital copy of the at least one image.12. A computer-readable program in a computer-readable mediumcomprising: a print controller; wherein the print controller isconfigured to move at least one print head array to a servicing stationwhen the at least one print head array needs to be serviced andservicing the at least one print head array will not interrupt at leastone image from a print job from completing; wherein the print controlleris further configured to determine whether to continue printing the atleast one image from the print job when servicing the at least one printhead array or interrupt the at least one image from the print job fromcompleting; and wherein the print controller is further configured toconfigure at least one additional print head array to continue the printjob when the at least one additional print head array is functional andat a position following the at least one print head array after the atleast one image from the print job has completed or interrupt the atleast one image from the print job from completing and configuring theat least one additional print head array to continue printing the atleast one image from the print job when the at least one additionalprint head array is functional and at a position following the at leastone print head array.
 13. The computer-readable program in acomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the print controller isfurther configured to determine whether the at least one image from theprint job has not been printed and identify the at least one image fromthe print job when the at least one image from the print job has notbeen printed or when the at least one image from the print job has animage quality defect value above a predefined threshold value.
 14. Thecomputer-readable program in a computer-readable medium of claim 12 or13, wherein the at least one image from the print job will beinterrupted from completing when the at least one image from the printjob has an image quality defect value above a predefined thresholdvalue.
 15. The computer-readable program in a computer-readable mediumas in any one of claims 12-14, wherein the print controller is furtherconfigured to reprint the at least one image from the print job when theat least one image from the print job has not been printed or when animage quality defect value of the at least one image is above thepredefined threshold value.